An inhaler has been already known as an instrument used for treating the nose and throat, and this kind of an inhaler is, for example, utilized for treating primary catarrh, allergic rhinitis, etc. An inhaler used for such a therapy is such that heat or vibration is given to medicine in order to atomize the same and a patient is caused to inhale the same. A handy type and an installation type are available on the market.
Furthermore, various kinds of handy type inhalers are proposed in view of their portability, for example, several structural examples are disclosed in Japanese laid-open utility model publications Nos. 51541 of 1983, 109545 of 1986, 75750 of 1990, etc. An inhaler disclosed in Japanese laid-open utility model publication No. 51541 of 1983 is provided with a cylindrical casing in which an inhaler is incorporated, and the casing is such that the cross-section thereof connects a small-diametered semicircle with a large-diametered semicircle and is made cylindrical, and a nozzle which is able to discharge atomized medicine is provided in a fixed state at the small-diametered semicircle at the upper side of the casing.
With an inhaler having such a structure, when using the same, the large-diametered semicircle section of the casing is gripped by a hand and the nozzle secured at the small-diametered semicircle is caused to face the nose or throat. Furthermore, an inhaler disclosed by Japanese laid-open utility model publication No. 109545 of 1986 is provided with a casing formed to be roughly box-like, in which an inhaler is incorporated, and the width of the casing is made tapered from the rear end thereof toward the front end side, and a nozzle which is able to discharge atomized medicine is provided in a fixed state at the front end side.
With the inhaler having such a structure, when using the same, the rear end side is gripped by a hand and the nozzle at the front end side, which is made tapered, is caused to face the nose or throat. Furthermore, an inhaler disclosed by Japanese laid-open utility model publication No. 75750 of 1990 is provided with a cylindrical casing in which an atomizing means is incorporated, and a nozzle which is able to discharge atomized medicine is fixed at the upper side of the casing.
With an inhaler having such a structure, when using the same, the cylindrical casing is gripped by a hand and is caused to face the nose or throat. However, in such conventional inhalers, there still remain technical themes to be described below.
That is, in the abovementioned utility model publications, since the nozzle is fixed in both of them, the inhalers are used while gripping the large-diametered semicircle section, the rear end section of the casing, or the cylindrical casing. However, this kind of atomizer is used by not only an adult but also a child. With such a structure of an atomizer disclosed in the abovementioned publications, if the large-diametered semicircle side section, the rear end portion of the casing or the gripping section consisting of a cylindrical casing is set to a size suitable for an adult, the same is too large for use by a child, and it is difficult for a child to grip. To the contrary, if the gripping section is set to a size suitable for a child, the size is not suitable for an adult, and it is difficult for an adult to use. Therefore, there is some parts thereof to be further improved for the convenience in use.
The present invention was developed in view of solving the abovementioned problems, and it is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved handy type inhaler which is easily adaptable for the use by not only an adult but also a child.